Ron "Rambo" Kim

Rambo’s Counter-Strike career began with him LANning with friends in the Texas area. He began attending local LAN tournaments and soon as a member of rs (Riot Squad) with his friends he begun to rise up the competitive ladder. When rs merged with their chief rivals TRU to form syn for the Babbages event Rambo would have his first taste of playing with one of his future team-mates, Porter. A 5th place at the Babbages CPL may have seemed a humble beginning for someone who would go on to be one of North America’s greatest players but from syn he went on to join CK3 (Clan Killers 3) where other future X3 team-mates were playing.

From the ashes of CK3 rose X3 (Xtreme 3) a team whose starting five dominated the North American clan scene losing almost never and beating even their closest rivals by large margins. With X3 Rambo won his first major Counter-Strike tournament, the first official one run by the CPL, the Speakeasy CPL event. As well as taking home his share of the $10,000 first prize money Rambo was perched firmly atop the competitive ladder in North America both online and in LAN competition. A fact only further impressed upon the community by X3’s domination of an invite tournament held by the CPL at their headquarters. The top four American teams were invited and the winners would receive prototype Intel processors capable of speeds far beyond those available on the commercial retail market. Needless to say at the close of the tournament X3 were still top dogs and Rambo had a new high speed gaming rig in his possession.

The next major tournament for Rambo would prove to be the biggest of his life until that point, the CPL had organized a CPL world championship event with a prize purse so staggering the winners would receive $50,000 and the second place finishers $25,000. This quickly attracted a collection of the best teams in the world, including both Rambo’s X3 and the mighty Swedish giants NiP who had dominated the European CPL events that year. After battling each side of the tournament brackets as #1 and #2 seeds NiP and X3 met as perhaps they were always destined to in the finals. Out of the three maps played between the two teams in the tournament X3 were able to win one but lost the other two and so left in 2nd place with $25,000. Not only had they produced an epic final still remembered the world over today but in beating NiP on a map X3 had shown as team they were one of the very best in the world and that their individual players could play with a team considered still to be one of the greatest of all time.

The fallout of the biggest Counter-Strike tournament to that point was that when the event had ended motivation within X3 waned over the coming months and the team was disbanded. Before the next CPL could arrive Rambo along with some of his X3 team-mates created 3D (Desire Discipline Dedication) After teething troubles at their first CPL event the team revamped the roster to bring in some new blood in the form of top competitors of the time, including steel. Attending the WCG saw the team working out the kinks in their team play without making a significant impact but had Rambo winning a bronze medal in the continent versus continent section of the event. The new 3D stormed to victory at the very next CPL event in the Winter of 2002, with Rambo being named MVP of the event. Winning $30,000 and establishing themselves as world #1s the team soon found full sponsorship from a host of big name tech companies. Not only would they receive travel expenses but would become the first American Counter-Strike team to be paid full salaries to play Counter-Strike.

The next CPL even in the summer of 2003 saw Rambo and 3D maintain their status as one of the world’s elite by placing 3rd, losing narrowly to the event champions and in overtime to the 2nd place finishers. This was still enough to garner them $28,000 in prize winnings. At the next WCG event Rambo secured his second WCG medal, this time silver, by placing 2nd. This also added another $20,000 to Rambo’s team career winnings. The year 2004 saw 3D find difficulties in replicating their past CPL successes but improve their WCG record by winning the next WCG, taking $50,000 in prize money for the accomplishment and the prestigious gold medals which accompany such a win. At the following WCG the feat was repeated and Rambo and his team won another $50,000 and their second set of gold medals. This also led to them being inducted into the WCG hall of fame, an honour only bestowed upon champions.

2006 saw Rambo add an additional $65,800 to his team career winnings in the space of 5 events. His team won the EverLAN CS:S tournament and WSVG’s LANwar event, placed 4th at the ESWC event in France, come in 2nd at the WSVG finals in New York and the WCG’s Pan-Am games. The latter event also had Rambo pick up a WCG silver medal taking his total medal tally to 5. The end of 2006 saw his tenure in 3D come to a close and Rambo makes his decision to join up with the prestigious compLexity organization to play Counter- Strike Source. Before their Source adventure would begin there was just enough time to crush the remaining 1.6 competitors in the US at the PNY finals in early 2007. Being drafted by the Los Angeles franchise of CGS as a member of coL Rambo had once again secured himself the highest salary for a Counter-Strike player in the world and his CS:S team would go on to achieve the best record in the opening season. In the downtime after the end of the first season the team and Rambo won the two big Source LAN events held, namely Digital Life and Newegg LANfest. They had set themselves as firm #1s in Source.

LAN Accomplishments:

  • 2000 5th Babbages CPL 700$ (syn)
  • 2001 1st Speakeasy CPL $10,000 (X3)
  • 2001 1st CPL Invite (X3) - Prototype Intel processors
  • 2001 1st CPL 4-year anniversary event $1,200 (X3)
  • 2001 2nd CPL Winter $25,000 (X3)
  • 2002 7th WCG (3D)
  • 2002 3rd WCG Continent vs. Continent (America) – Bronze medal
  • 2002 1st CPL Winter $30,000 (3D)
  • 2003 2nd KillerLAN $1,500 (3D)
  • 2003 3rd CPL Summer $28,000 (3D)
  • 2003 2nd WCG $20,000 (3D) – Silver medal
  • 2003 13th CPL Winter $1,000 (3D)
  • 2004 13th CPL Summer $1,000 (3D)
  • 2004 1st WCG $50,000 (3D) – Gold medal
  • 2004 8th CPL Winter $2,000 (3D)
  • 2005 1st WCG USA qualifier $5,000 (3D)
  • 2005 1st WCG $50,000 (3D) – Gold medal
  • 2005 2nd Acon5 qualifier (3D)
  • 2005 1st GGL Americup $4000(3D)
  • 2005 1st Digital Life $10,000(3D)
  • 2005 9th CPL Winter $900 (3D)
  • 2006 3rd Transatlantic showdown 5,250$ (3D)
  • 2006 1st EverLAN CS:S $10,000 (3D)
  • 2006 1st WSVG LANwar $12,500 (3D)
  • 2006 4th ESWC $16,000 (3D)
  • 2006 2nd CGI $15,000 (3D)
  • 2006 9th WSVG ISC $2,250 (3D)
  • 2006 2nd WSVG Finals, NY $25,000 (3D)
  • 2006 1st WCG USA qualifier $17,500 (3D)
  • 2006 5th WCG (3D)
  • 2006 2nd WCG Pan-Am $2,300 (3D) – Silver medal
  • 2007 1st PNY Finals $2,000 (coL)
  • 2007 1st Digital Life $10,000 (coL)
  • 2007 1st Newegg LANfest $5,000 (coL)
  • 2007 1st CGS world finals CS:Source $25,000 (coL)

Total team career prize winnings: over $385.000

Ognian "steel" Gueorguiev

Beginning with online play steel’s Counter-Strike career quickly moved into the LAN environment as he attended local LANs in Quebec and made connections. Soon his talent had been noticed by then top Canadian team xeno who had placed 2nd at the Speakeasy CPL event. Playing with his country’s top team steel’s improving game began to turn heads both in the North American community as a whole and within his team. When it came time to leave the team he and fellow xeno member reek joined up with the French Canadian team LnD (Legends never Die) who attended the Canadian WCG qualifier and promptly won. Their prize had them flying out to Korea to represent Canada in Counter-Strike in the gaming equivalent of the Olympics. Battling through the tournament in Korea the team were sent to the losers’ bracket by the German representatives mTw only to produce a remarkable comeback winning two maps in a row to become champions of the first WCG. As well as $40,000 in team winnings, making steel the first North American CS player to ever win over $25,000, steel received the gold medal of a champion. Along with his team he was also inducted into the WCG hall of fame, an honour shared by few to this day.

With the WCG behind them and some of the members lacking motivation to go on with Counter-Strike steel found himself needing a new team to compete at the top. By the time the next major event, CPL Summer 2002, came around he had found a starting spot on GX (Gamers-X) who had agreed to pay his travel expenses from Canada to the CPL event in Dallas. At the event GX was to prove a team capable of surprising the competitive community as they notably beat steel’s nemeses in mTw with a stirring comeback after being 10-2 down in the first half. From there they went to beat Norwegian dark horses Spacebar on de_clan1_mill in a thrilling overtime match in which steel had to summon all of his abilities in clutch situations. The eventual 7th placing these performances resulted in had steel established as one of the top North American talents, having won the WCG and now upset a number of big name teams. With 3D looking to revamp their roster he was invited to become a full time member and readily accepted.

While his team-mates in 3D headed off to the WCG to represent the USA steel was heading back with an LnD mix team to represent Canada again as at the time all WCG champions were provided a spot in the next WCG tournament and travel expenses. As largely a mix team and without real practice LnD had little expected of them and they did not make a significant impact in the final rankings, but did surprise a few by overcoming the Swedish representatives. At this event steel also competed in the continent versus continent event and won his second WCG medal, this time a bronze.

Back home with his American colleagues steel played a pivotal role in their stirring victory at CPL Winter 2002. Along the way he produced a stellar individual performance in the upper bracket finals on de_inferno against eventual 2nd place finishers GoL. When 3D captured the CPL title in the finals steel had set himself apart from every other Counter-Strike player by becoming the first North American Counter-Strike player to win both a WCG gold medal and a CPL championship title. When companies stepped forwards to sponsor 3D following their win steel also became the only Canadian member of an American sponsored Counter-Strike team, showing the regard to which his own team-mates ranked him above all the other talent in the USA. steel’s last big placing at a major event came when 3D finished 3rd at CPL Summer 2003. When his career ended in early 2005 steel had captured over $110,000 in team career prize winnings and 2 WCG medals. He now studies to become a photographer and can be found writing articles about Counter-Strike for ESEA.

    LAN Accomplishments:

  • 2001 1st Polybash CPL qualifier $2,500 (xeno)
  • 2001 1st WCG Canada qualifier
  • 2001 1st WCG $40,000 (LnD) – Gold medal
  • 2002 1st Dreamcité CPL qualifier $1,000
  • 2002 7th CPL Summer $4,000 (GX)
  • 2002 9th WCG (LnD)
  • 2002 3rd WCG Continent vs Continent (America) – Bronze medal
  • 2002 1st CPL Winter $30,000 (3D)
  • 2003 2nd Killerlan $1,500 (3D)
  • 2003 3rd CPL Summer $28,000 (3D)
  • 2003 13th CPL Winter $1,000 (3D)
  • 2004 13th CPL Summer $1,000 (3D)
  • 2004 8th CPL Winter $2,000 (3D)

Total team career prize winnings: over $115,000

Duncan "Thorin" Shields

After taking up the virtual pen when the only writers whose work he enjoyed retired Thorin quickly established himself as one of Europe's most hard-working and unique esports journalists/writers. Beginning with a Russian site which translated his writings into Russian for a sister site he soon moved on to work with esports legend and one of the aforementioned writers, Izn0, at the Scandinavian subscription service Gamers.nu. Refining his writing style and developing an entertaining, if at times controvertial, persona from which to operate from behind Thorin’s writing quickly became regularly referred on community websites the world over. During his time at Gamers.nu he travelled to events in Sweden, Norway, France and the USA to cover events in a time period when no other sites could afford to send journalists out to cover such events. His unique audio content, including interviews before and after matches with the world’s premiere players was unlike anything which had preceeded it in Counter-Strike and would take many years until the era of streaming broadcasting until it was at all replicated by others.

After his time at Gamers.nu ended when his salary no longer matched his living situation Thorin briefly considered departing the esports world before providing pro bono work for American team 3D’s website which he would revamp and redesign. In doing so he further attracted the attentions of 3D manager Torbull who invited him to join the ESEA company and help them build a North American subscription service similar to that he had been intimately involved with at Gamers.nu. The service was launched and went on to be wildly successful amongst the community. After creating features like Ask ESEA and conducting hundreds of interviews and thousands of CS movie reviews (a feature he had invented in 2002) Thorin took a hiatus from esports and ESEA in 2005. This ended in late 2006 when he came back to ESEA, initially to provide one of his specialities, CS movie reviews, but as 2007 came along eventually to become a writer and journalist again. He currently hosts the ESEA features ‘Ask ESEA’, ‘Master Debater’ and writes articles for the European version of the site.

Events attended for coverage purposes:

  • 2001 CPL London, UK (Pro-cybernews)
  • 2002 CPL Summer Dallas, USA (Gamers.nu)
  • 2002 CPL Oslo, Norway (Gamers.nu)
  • 2002 WCG Qualifier Stockholm, Sweden (Gamers.nu)
  • 2002 CPL Winter Dallas, USA (Gamers.nu)
  • 2003 CPL Cannes, France (Gamers.nu)
  • 2003 Clikarena Toulouse, France (Gamers.nu)
  • 2004 CPL Winter Dallas, USA (ESEA)